When a doctor (generally speaking, a health professional) provides medical services for a patient, the doctor is required to document his/her observations and other relevant information. In some cases, the doctor writes down his/her notes in the patient's file, or perhaps a report is typed by either the doctor or a member of the doctor's staff. However, because of busy schedules and heavy patient loads, most doctors opt instead to dictate (record) an oral report that is subsequently transcribed into a written (typed) report.
Prior Art FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical system 50 used for medical transcription. Central to system 50 is a dictation device 10 which is used for recording dictated information. Dictation device 10 has a number of ports 13 for receiving incoming calls. The person dictating information places a call over telephone line 15 into one of the ports 13 of dictation device 10. Similarly, the person who will transcribe the recorded information places a call over telephone line 16 into another one of the ports 13 of dictation device 10. Thus, ports 13 are utilized by those users (dictators) wishing to record information as well as those users (transcribers) who will transcribe the recorded information.
Typically, the dictator and the transcriber use custom telephones 11 and 12 when accessing dictation device 10. The telephones 11 and 12 generally incorporate special features and functions that facilitate communication with dictation device 10. Other special equipment appurtenant to telephones 11 and 12, such as foot pedals, may also be required for recording or transcribing information to and from dictation device 10. Therefore, one disadvantage to the prior art is that users generally need to purchase extra, and perhaps costly, equipment in order to properly communicate with dictation device 10.
Multiple people can access dictation device 10 at the same time, either to record information or to retrieve recorded information for transcription. However, the number of people who can access dictation device 10 at any one time is limited by the number of ports 13. In one implementation, dictation device 10 has 48 ports. Thus, if 40 of the ports are being used by dictators, for example, then only eight ports are available for transcribers.
The prior art system for transcribing information such as medical records has several disadvantages. Foremost, prior art systems exemplified by system 50 are expensive to equip, operate and maintain. Because devices such as dictation device 10 have a limited number of ports 13, multiple devices are often needed in order to accommodate the number of dictators and transcribers that need to use them. Dictation devices are expensive, and therefore the cost of purchasing a sufficient number of such machines can be very high. As the number of users increases, more dictation devices are needed, further increasing capital expenditures.
Furthermore, the cost of maintaining dictation devices can also be very high. While in the simplest sense dictation device 10 functions similar to a tape recorder, in reality dictation devices are relatively complex machines having a number of components for facilitating the dictation process, and for enabling the retrieval of dictated information by transcribers. Even reliable machines require routine maintenance, and with the complexity of dictation devices, maintenance costs may be unacceptably high, especially when repairs are needed.
In addition, in the prior art, upgrading or updating the dictation devices is difficult and inconvenient. With the need to have multiple dictation devices, if there is a need for an update or upgrade, each device must be individually modified. An inordinate amount of time, with commensurate costs, is spent repeating the modification for each dictation device 10 in use.
Operating costs associated with prior art transcription systems are also relatively high. Space for housing the dictation devices is needed. In addition, there are telephony costs associated with connecting to the dictation device. In the field of medical transcription, many transcribers work from a remote location such as their home. Consequently, they will make frequent and lengthy long distance calls to the dictation device in order to listen to the recorded information while they transcribe it. The cost of such calls, even when toll free or over leased lines, can be quite high.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and/or system that can reduce the costs associated with the purchase, operation and maintenance of prior art dictation devices and appurtenant equipment. What is also needed is a method and/or system that can address the above need and that can accommodate a large and growing number of users without substantial additional costs. The present invention provides a novel solution to the above needs.